Code of conduct rule to be adopted by high schools
Ryan Murray
Reporter
Libby and Troy high schools are taking a new approach to their student-athletes, one that could cause a few bumps in the road.
Both schools are revamping their code of conduct for extracurricular students. The changes, organizers believe, will lead to a healthier and happier student body.
“It’s not just rules and procedures,” said Libby Athletic Director Jim Germany. “It’s changing a life, changing a lifestyle.”
A speaker who came to Troy last year inspired some of the changes coming down for both Libby and Troy.
John Underwood, a former NCAA All-American and current Olympic trainer, travels the country giving presentations at high schools, and he sparked interest among Lincoln County’s schools toward steering athletes away from drugs and alcohol.
“When you stand out in something a lot of younger kids look up to you,” said Troy High School Principal Jacob Francom. “We’re raising the bar and focusing on values.”
These values are detailed in Troy’s proposed handbook and are the four cardinal virtues from Plato; justice, prudence, fortitude and temperance.
While the proposed changes do not deal with just teenage drinking and drug use, the two administrators admit that is a part of it.
“We have kids not participating because they like to party,” Germany said. “We wanted a higher level of commitment to our athletics.”
When a Logger wrestler went in front of the Libby School Board after he was at a teen party where students were consuming alcohol, people around the county decided enough was enough.
“People already think we turn a blind eye to these sort of things,” Germany said. “And that’s the most frustrating thing in the world.”
Germany estimates 20 percent of athletes who do use drugs and alcohol are actually caught and reprimanded for it.
Francom said it might just be part of a too-long unchecked system for local athletes. “Teenagers do dumb things” isn’t going to cut it anymore.
“It’s a communitywide process,” Francom said. “This is going to be a 24/7/365 policy, which includes out-of-season for our students.”
Troy’s proposed changes are a three-strikes policy. The first infraction in a school year is a suspension of 30 days and a minimum of 50 percent of all activities or contests which may be lessened with an essay, presentation or submitting to random drug testing throughout the season.
The second infraction is a suspension for the remainder of the school year. The only way an offender can return is with an apology to his or her teammates and enrollment in a drug and alcohol intervention course.
The third offense is suspension from all activities for the remainder of their high school career.
Harsh? Maybe. Germany guesses the transition (Libby will be looking at a similar solution) won’t be smooth.
“We might lose a couple kids,” Germany admits. “But we might gain more in the long run. We can get a commitment level to see them safe and clean throughout their careers.”
But this is more than just punishment, this is trying to change the mindset of young people in Lincoln County – a group already beset by high binge-drinking rates.
More than 40 percent of Lincoln County’s 8th graders admitted they had drank alcohol in the past 30 days. The average age of first use is 10.5 years old.
It also deals with the fact that Libby and Troy have declining enrollments and staying competitive is not an easy task.